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HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



OBERLIN COLLEGE 



BY 



Bev. E. H. F^IEOHILi:*. 



PEINOIPAL PEEPARATORY DEPARTMENT 



AXD 



OENERAL AGENT 



l|)berjin; ig)hio, }^^B, 



y 



SPRINGFIELD: 

tKlNTED BY REPUBLIC PRINTING COMPANY, 



4 



,t» 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 



The plan of Oberlin originated in 1832, with Eev. John J. Ship- 
herd, then pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Elyria, and P. P. 
Stewart, formerly a missionary among the Southern Indians. It 
was an offspriug of the wonderful revivals of 1830, '31 and '32, in 
which Mr. Shipherd was a most faithful, prudent and successful 
laborer. 

The plan involved a school for both sexes, with Preparatory, 
Teachers', College and Theological Departments; furnishing a 
substantial education at the lowest possible rates ; with such facil- 
ities for self-support as the "Manual Labor System" was supposed 
to afford. The school was to be surrounded by a Christian com- 
munit}^, united in the faith of the Gospel, and in self-denying 
efforts to establish and sustain the school. 

The location selected was in a dense, unbroken forest, eight miles 
from Elyria and thirty-three from Cleveland. It was level, clayey 
and uninviting. Many are still unreconciled to the choice. Its 
advantages were, that it was uno(;cupied, and was surrounded by a 
growing population of New England origin, Mauy more delight- 
ful locations might have been found in ^N'orthern Ohio, but who 
will venture to say that a better site could have been selected for 
Oberlin ? Believers in Divine Providence, who, like the writer, 
were privileged to listen to the fervent prayers that attended every 
step of the founders of the Institution, and have seen how won- 
derfully their plans succceeded, will be slow to criticise their 
work. 

The name of the school and colony was borrowed, not from 
Oberlin the elegant scholar, but from Oberlin the Swiss pastor, 
who represented, in his self-denying and efficient life, that love 
towards God and that sympathy with man which were to be cher- 
ished here. 

The plan of the school and place having been matured, the loca- 
tion fixed, the name selected, and Trustees appointed, Mr. Shipherd 
was sent abroad to secure funds and inhabitants. No new princi- 
ple of social organization was proposed, but those who were ready 



4 * OBERLiN COLLEGE. 

to volunteer in the enterprise were asked to indicate their conse- 
cration to the work by subscribing to the following articles of 
agreement, called the Oberlin Covenant : 

" Lamenting the degeneracy of the Church and the deplorable 
^condition of our perishing world, and ardently desirous of bring- 
ing both under the entire influence of the blessed gospel of peace ; 
and viewing with peculiar interest the influence which the Yalley 
of the Mississippi must exert over our nation and the nations of 
the earth ; and having, as we trust, in answer to devout supplica- 
tions, been guided by the counsel of the Lord : the undersigned 
covenant together under the name of the Oberlin Colony, subject 
to the following regulations, which may be amended by a concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the colonists : 

1. Providence permitting, we engage as soon as practicable to 
remove to the Oberlin Colony, in Eussia, Lorain county, Ohio^ 
and there to fix our residence, for the express purpose of glorify- 
ing God in doing good to men to the extent of our ability. 

2. We will hold and manage our estates personally, but pledge 
as perfect a community of interest, as though we held a community 
of property. 

3. ^Ye will hold in possession no more property than we believe 
we can profitably manage for God, as his faithful stewards. 

4. "We will, by industry, economy, and Christian self-denialj 
obtain as much as we can above our necessary personal or family 
expenses, and faithfully approj)riate the same for the spread of the 
gospel. 

5. That we may have time and health for the Lord's service, we 
will eat only plain and wholesome food, renouncing all bad habits, 
and especially the smoking and chewing of tobacco, unless it is 
necessary as a medicine, and deny ourselves all strong and un- 
necessary drinks, even tea and cofi'ee, as far as practicable^ and 
everything expensive, that is simply calculated to gratify the 
palate. 

6. That we may add to our time and health money for the ser- 
vice of the Lord, we will renounce all the world'l expensive and 
unwholesome fashions of dress, particulaily tight dressing and 
ornamental attire. 

7. And yet more to increase our means of serving Him who 
bought us with his blood, we will observe plainness and durability 
in the construction of our houses, furniture, carriages, and all that 
appertains to us, 

8. We will strive continually to show that we, as the body of 
Christ, are members one of another ; and will; while living, pr^- 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 5 

vide for the widows, orphans, and families of the sick and needy 
as for ourselves. 

9. We will take special pains to educate all our children thor- 
oughly, and to train them up in body, intellect and heart for the 
Service of the Lord. 

10. We will feel that the interests of the Oberlin Institute are 
identified with ours, and do what we can to extend its influence to 
our fallen race. 

11. We will make special efforts to sustain the institutions of the 
gospel at home and among our neighbors. 

12. We will strive to maintain deep-toned and elevated personal 
piety, to '-'provoke each other to love and good works," to live 
together in all things as brethren, and to glorify God in our bodies 
and spirits, which are his. 

In testimony of our fixed purpose thus to do, in reliance on 
divine grace, we hereunto afiix our names.'' 

These articles served their main purpose in bringing together 
families devoted, not only to a common end, but agreeing in their 
views of practical duty and the means of promoting religious edu- 
cation. After a few years, the letter of the covenant was essen- 
tially laid aside, but the spirit of it has, in a good degree, been 
maintained till the present time. 

In December, 1833, the school was opened with forty-four pupils 
from the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, ISTew 
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. These students w^ere not 
children of the colonists, but young men and women of earnest 
religious character, who, on their own account, had made their 
Avay to the wilderness, to aid in the organization and enjoy the 
benefits of this Christian college. The religious exercises which 
preceded the opening of the school are still spoken of, by those 
who were present, as of very solemn interest. While the meeting 
was in progress, J. F. Scovill, the young teacher who was to have 
temporary charge of the school, entered the place and went imme- 
diately to the chapel. When invited to speak, his first words 
expressed the thought of all present : " Put off thy shoes from thy 
feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." The 
same feeling, in great measure^ has pervaded the place to the pres- 
ent day. The following Spring, the writer took Oberlin on his 
way home from school ; and he became so impressed with the 
earnest and happy religious character of the students and the 
peoi)le, that on reaching home and being asked by his parents 
where he had been, he replied that he felt as if he had been in heaven. 

The piety that prevailed here at that early period was not of the 



b OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

sort which rejoices iu quiet and seclusion ; but of the kind which 
"lamented the degeneracy of the church and the deplorable condi- 
tion of our perishing world," and led to earnest consecration of 
property and life to the work of reformation and salvation. A 
large portion of the students first on the ground had their eye upon 
the foreign missionary field, and were pledged, if the way should 
be open, to spend their lives among the heathen. Few of them 
actually went ; for, when they were prepared, no missionary socie- 
ty desired to send them ; and they found at home a more trying 
and self-denying work to do. 

It was not till the winter of 1834-5 that Gberlin took its position 
on the question of slavery. Previous to that time no special inter- 
est had been taken in that subject. The inhabitants, like almost 
all people at the North, believed that slavery was a great evil, but 
trusted to the Colonization Society to mitigate and remove it. 
Abolitionism disturbed several other places in Ohio some months 
earlier than it reached Oberlin. 

At Lane Seminary, a Presbyterian Theological School near Cin- 
cinnati, a class of students had gathered of unusual ability and 
energy. Many of them were from Oneida Institute, a manual 
labor school in Central Kew York. Some were sons of slave- 
holders in the South. From all parts of the country they were 
gathered, to the number of a hundred or more. Among them 
were such men as Theodore "Weld, a man of surpassing eloquence 
and power, Geo. Whipple, A. W. Alvord, J. A. Thome, Geo. 
Clark, S. W. Streeter, Hiram Wilson, and others not unknown to 
those who have been familiar with some of the most stirring por- 
tions of our history for the last thirty years. Over them all Dr. 
Beecher and Prof. Stowe presided, as chief instructors. 

To their beautiful retreat on Walnut Hills, just on the dividing 
line between Slaver)- and Freedom, the spirit of abolitionism found 
its way. For eighteen successive evenings the discussion waxed 
warmer and warmer, while those earnest young men sought not 
the victory in argument, but to determine the course of their 
future lives. They knew that scorn, contempt, slander, persecu- 
tion, disinheritance, awaited them, if they espoused the cause of 
the slave ; but with them it was a question of duty, not of profit. 
And, with many prayers and tears and consecrations to God, as 
well as discussions and searchiugs after truth, they took their posi- 
tion, and cast in their lot with the most oppressed and most de- 
spised of God's creatures. It was such a scene as is not witnessed 
in this world more than once in a century. To their surprise, 
these devoted young men, whose hearts had long yearned for the 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 7 

heathen, found a missionary field in Cincinnati ; and just over tlic 
river a vast territory vrhere millions of men were excluded from 
civilization and the privileges of the gospel. They coramencejl 
tlieir missionary work at once, in schools and Sabbath-schools 
among the colored people ; and for their reward received the re- 
proach and disgust of many who would have supported and hon- 
ored them, if they had sought the same work in Africa. 

The Trustees of the Seminary were alarmed at the aspect of 
things, and with such a view of their responsibility as sometimes 
unmans even good men, during the Summer vacation passed a rule 
forbidding the further discussion of the subject of slavery on the 
premises of the Institution. Prof. Morgan, then in ISTew York, 
was informed that his services were no longer needed. No reason 
was assigned, but it was well known that his sympathies were 
with the students. The young men returned to enter their protest 
against the gag-law, and to ask dismission from the Institution. 
Four-fifths of them left in a body, and Lane Seminary has in-obably 
never recovered from the blow. By a similar stroke of policy, 
"Western Reserve College was almost ruined about the same time. 
Both these Institutions are now, and long have been, entirely 
sound on this subject. 

The protesting students, upon the invitation of James Ludlow, 
a wealthy gentleman residing a few miles from the city, took pos- 
session of a building which he provided, and continued their 
studies and discussions for five months, no man forbidding. This 
was the condition of things when Mr. Shipherd, prosecuting his 
agency for Oberlin, visited Cincinnati. He was prepared to enter 
into sympathy, at once, with the seceding students, and to invite 
them to Oberlin. But Oberlin was under the management of 
Trustees ; and every citizen in the place, and every Professor and 
student, claimed a right to a voice in determining the fundamental 
character of the school. They had sacrificed much in coming here, 
and had come for the sake of the school. Could they consent that 
this college and this place should be made the hot-bed of abolition- 
ism? This was the question; for the condition on which the 
seceders of Lane would come was that in this Institution students 
should be received irrespective of color. And on this condition 
Prof. Morgan was willing to become a Professor, and Rev. Asa 
Malian, then pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Cincin- 
nati, was willing to accept the Presidency. He had been a member 
,of the Board of Trustees of Lane, and had resigned when the gag- 
law was passed against his earnest protest. On this condition, too, 
Arthur Tappan, that noble man, was willing to give $5,000 for a 



8 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

building, and Prof. Finney was ready to come. This question, 
" Shall students be received irrespective of color ?" was submitted 
to the Trustees and people of Oberlin. At first, it staggered them. 
The citizens were greatly agitated ; young ladies from New Eng- 
land declared that if colored students were admitted, they would 
return home, if they had to "wade Lake Erie" to accomx)lish it. 
Some of the brave girls lived to wade through deeper and stormier 
seas, in working for the oppressed and despised race. To the few 
whose minds were already made up, it was interesting and charm- 
ing to see with what earnest prayerfulness and honest investigation 
the mass of the people sought to reach a decision acceptable to 
God. For several weeks this was the sole topic of discussion in 
X)ublic meetings and in private circles, at the tables and by the way ; 
and constantly the conviction was settling down upon the x>eople 
that He who made of one blood all the children of men would not 
be offended to see them enjoying the privileges of education in the 
same school. 

A meeting of the Trustees was called ; and, to avoid the excite- 
ment at Oberlin, they held their session at the Temperance House 
in Elyria. A petition was sent to them by the principal colonists 
and such students as were present, (for it was vacation,) the latter 
clause of which beautifully exhibits the religious sincerity with 
which they prosecuted the discussion of this question. It is as 
follows : " Therefore, your petitioners respectfully request that 
your honorable body will meet at Oberlin, that your deliberations 
may be heard and known on the great and important questions in 
contemplation. We feel for our black brethren — we feel to want 
your counsels and instructions ; we want to know what is duty, 
and, God assisting us, we will lay aside every prejudice, and do as 
we shall be led to believe God would have us to do." , 

The Trustees adjourned without reaching a decision. They were 
called together again, and met at the house of Mr. Shipherd, in his 
absence. Mrs. Shipherd, engaged in her household duties, often 
passed the door, which stood ajar, and at length, in her anxiety* 
stopped before it. Father Keep, the moderator, comprehended 
her solicitude, and, stepjping out, informed her that the result was 
doubtful. She immediately dropped her work, gathered the pray- 
ing sisters of the neighborhood, and they continued in iDrayer till 
the decision was announced. The question was decided in the 
affirmative, by the casting votd of Father Keep. God bless the 
good old man, now eighty-seven. Thus the Kubicon was passed, 
and henceforth the name of Oberlin was a hissing and a by-word 
throughout the land. 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. » 

In the Spring of 1835, Oberlin received the accession of thirty 
students from Lane ; and, soon after, about fifteen noble young 
men from Western Eeserve College ; all of whom had sacrificed 
every hope of popularity and position, and some of them heritage, 
parents and home, under a deep conviction of duty to God and 
man. To this rough opening in the wilderness, through miles of 
almost bottomless mud, they came, and cheerfully took up their 
abode in barraeks extemporized for their reception, 141: feet long, 
24 feet wide, and 10 feet high, constructed of rough beech boards 
and slabs, and divided into rooms 12 feet square, all opening into 
the surrounding forest. Of the thrilling meetings that were then 
held, the burning eloquence of President Mahan, the tearful 
appeals of Prof. Morgan, in behalf of the enslaved, words fail to 
tell, as they appeared to my youthful mind. In the Autumn of 
the same year. Weld gave us a series of over twenty lectures, to— 
equip the young warriors for the Winter campaign. Year after 
year, some of the Professors, and such of the students as were 
deemed qualified, spent the Winter vacation in lecturing under the 
auspices of the American Anti-Slavery Society, or the Ohio State . 

Society. And scores of ladies and gentlemen engaged in teaching 
colored schools in various cities of the ^N'orth, and in Canada, 
wherever a sufficient number of pupils could be gathered ; and 
often for no pay beyond their expenses. Of the trials they en- 
dured, in lack of symj)athy and encouragement, while, from a 
sense of duty, they contended against their own hereditary preju- 
dices ; in exclusion from society, and from every position of profit 
or honor; in want of confidence and Christian fellowship; from ^ 
scorn, contempt and ridicule ; from hisses, sneers, epithets and 
slander ; from rotten apj)les, rotten eggs and mobs, it is needless 
to speak. The sufierings of those times were not worthy to be 
compared with the glory already revealed. 

The schools our students taught were called " nigger *' schools, 
the churches where they preached were "nigger" churches; the . 
preachers themselves were "nigger" men. Oberlin was a 
"nigger" town. Even the silent guide-boards near the place were 
made to speak the contempt of the people. ISTot mau}^ years ago, 
on one of them, six miles from here, the direction to Oberlin was 
indicated by the picture of a negro running with all his might to 
reach the place. A tavern sign, on the Oberlin side, was orna- 
mented by the representation of a panting negro, pursued by a 
tiger. 

But all these trials had their compensation. The thanks of the 
poor and despised for a few white teachers, who were willing to 



10 ©BERLIN COLLEGE. 

endure hardship for them, were no formal exi)ressions ; the joyful^ 
tearful " God bless you !" of the hunted fugitive, when left beyond 
the reach of danger, was sufficient reward for a night of toil and 
exposure ; the warm receptions to be met with from a few friends 
of the slave, to be found in almost every place, or even the excite- 
ments of a mob, were better than cold formality or dead monotony. 
But, above all, the consciousness of God's favor, the firm confidence 
of ultimate triumph, visions of the country and the'^slave redeemed 
in the distant future — for few hoped to see it in their day — and 
hopes of final vindication, both on earth and in heaven, were the 
chief support in every trial. 

At this point in the history of Oberlin, and for this reason, the 
great, and general, and long continued opposition to the Institution 
and place commenced. Previous to this there had been very little. 
The friends of Western Eeserve College, fifty miles distant, natur- 
ally felt that Oberlin was encroaching on their territory ; and the 
friends of Oberlin felt under obligation to explain that the Institu- 
tions were so distinct in chai*acter that they could hardly be re- 
garded as rivals. Further than this, there was no opposition 
worthy of notice. But when Oberlin took a position antagonistic 
to those two Institutions, which were then the hope and the pride 
of the Presbyterian Church at the West, welcomed, approved and 
applauded their i)rotesting students, it was not in human nature to 
look on with composure. Oberlin was at once regarded as the seat 
of folly and fanaticism, a disturber of the peace of the country' 
and the church, an enemy to be fought and destroyed, and no long- 
er a sister Institution. And, in this controversy, the advantage 
was all on their side. They were established Institutions, and had 
the support of a large and powerful church. The press, the pulpit, 
the political parties, and the prejudices of the people were all in 
their favor, and made their cause common. No good was expected 
from such a place, but every evil was looked for. Every mistake, 
every indiscretion, every sin, was eagerly seized upon, exaggerated 
and paraded before the public. The doctrines taught here were 
misunderstood and misrepresented. Good men shunned the place, 
bad men slandered it, and nearly all believed the slanders. The 
monstrous lies of a renegade student, who had been excommuni- 
cated from the church for profanity and infidelity, and expelled 
from the Society of Inquiry for ribald and blasphemous language, 
were credited, while the calm statements of the best of men made 
but little impression. 

Of the many strange rumors, slanderous reports, and wonderful 
exaggerations, which gained currency while this state of the pub- 



DBERLIN COLLEGE. H 



lie mind prevailed, it is needless to speak, A few specimens must 
suffice. It was rumored, and extensively believed, that the Insti- 
tution was overwhelmed with ifijegroes, that each white student 
■was compelled to room and sleep with a colored one, when there 
was but one colored pupil in the school, and not half a dozen * 
colored persons in the county. A white student boarding at Mr. 
Shipherd's consented, on request, to take the colored servant, a 
feeble girl, to his home, a few miles distant, that she might have 
the benefit of a ride, according to the advice of her ph^^sician. An y 
extra of the county paper was immediately published, giving a 
glowing account of the matter, and expatiating largely upon the 
frightful tendencies of Oberlin fanaticism. The next Cleveland 
paper came out with a wonderful article, headed "Marriage Extra-*/ 
ordinary;" in which a most glowing and sarcastic account was 
given of the marriage of a white student of Oberlin to a colored 
girl. This article was copied into not less than forty iDapers, in all ^ 
parts of the United States. It was very commonly believed that 
amalgamation was the common doctrine and practice of Oberlin. 
The fact is, that, though five or six per cent, of our students have 
been colored for the last thirty years, not a single case has occurred 
of marriage or attachment between a white student and one in 
whom there was any "visible admixture of African blood." Some 
unknown person wrote several anonymous letters, of the vilest 
character imaginable, to several virtuous young ladies, the friends 
and companions of young men here, and one of them, a special 
friend of one of the young men ; and he, fired with indigna- 
tion at the villainous insult to his betrothed, with the aid of a 
few others, one night, entrapped the fellow, flogged him, and sent 
him out of town. The following day, a public meeting was called, 
and the act and unknown actors were thoroughly rebuked ; though 
the provocation was admitted to be great. Several of the young 
men, on cooler reflection, were convinced that their great indigna- 
tion had betrayed them into an unjustifiable act, and made public 
confession. On this confession they were arrested, convicted, and 
severely fined. The most exaggerated accounts of this transaction, 
more regretted in Oberlin than anywhere else, were published 
throughout the land and charged upon Oberlin itself, as a legitimate 
outgrowth of its fanatical and heretical teachings. It was reported 
and believed that the young man died of the injuries received. But 
he is still alive, and is a good and useful man. One evening, after an 
exciting debate between the President and the Professor of Lan- 
guages on the study of the heathen classics, a few of the students, 
more in sport than in seriousness, fired their Yirgils and tossed them 



12 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

about the streets. The next morning they had their lessons in 
Virgil, as usual, and continued from year to year the usual classical 
course. But their foolish act was published through the country 
as the act of the college, discardino: the classics. There was a time 
when some portions of the ordinary classical course were omitted, 
and other linguistic studies substituted. But there never was a 
time when the course in Languages was not equal in amount to 
that of other first-class colleges. It would be easy to fill a volume 
with accounts of similar slanders and exaggerations. These state- 
ments are made to show how admirably the public mind was pre- 
pared to discover dangerous and damnable heresy in any new 
phase of doctrine that might be preached in Oberlin. 

Of the doctrine of Sanctification, or Christian Perfection, as 
taught and held at Oberlin, I must not speak at length ; yet, in any 
extended historical account of the Institution, it could not properly 
be omitted. At the organization of the Theological Department, 
on receiviug the accession from Lane, Eev. Charles G. Finney, the 
great revival preacher of New York, was appointed Professor of 
Theology. He was at that time a Congregational pastor in the city, 
and advocated those views of doctrine commonly designated New 
School Theology ; and, perhaps, no man has done more to estab- 
lish and extend that system of doctrine than he. ^rom the com- 
mencement of his remarkable career as a preacher, many excellent 
men rejected some of his doctrines and criticised his revival meas- 
ures. Yet so wonderful was his success, so manifestly were his 
labors attended with the Divine blessing, that opposition was made 
with great caution, and with little effect. His sermons were pub- 
lished weekly in the New York Evangelist, as Beecher's have been 
in the Independent ; and, by a large portion of the Presbyterian 
and Congregational churches, he was regarded as a safe and sound 
leader. On his way to Oberlin, an effort was made to divert him 
to Western Reserve College. An announcement of his appoint- 
ment to a Theological Professorship in that Institution met him in 
Cleveland. It seemed to them a great pity that a man of such 
eminent power and usefulness in the church should give his influ- 
ence to a scheme so utopian. But Mr. Finney was not thus impressed 
by what he saw here. He was a man who knew but one line of pol- 
icy—to find out the will of God, and do it. This enterprise, he was 
convinced, was of God. The spirit of the Lord seemed to be here, 
and the principles which had been adopted were right and true. 
He added his peculiar power to the influences already gathered, 
and no man has done more to give character and power to the 
school and the place. 



OBERLIIt COLLEGE. 13 

The influence of such a man, whose whole life and power were 
devoted to the one great object of turning sinners to God, on a 
community already so thoroughly religious and earnest, tended to 
produce such an intensity of religious feeling and consecration as 
has seldom been witnessed. It was not a development of boisterous, 
iioisy, senseless excitement ; there was always perfect order, and, 
in general, great stillness and quiet. Occasionally, responses, sobs 
and sighs were heard, and sometimes a secret prayer, in the forest 
or college hall, unnecessarily loud ; but this was never a prominent 
feature of the religion of Oberlin. Nor was there any marked 
tendency to asceticism and penance ; to sadness and melancholy ; 
to sourness, severity, uncharitableness. The society of Oberlin 
has always been characterized by cheerfulness, joyfulness, sociality, 
kindness and charity. It is a thing of almost daily occurrence for 
visitors and students to express their surprise at finding the char- 
acter of the people, in this respect, so different from their expecta- 
tions. But there was among the people a spirit of entire consecra- 
tion to God; a disposition to subject everything to his will, and 
enlist everything in his service. It was their aim to eat and drink 
and dress, to buy and sell and save and give, to build, adorn and 
furnish, to work and play and visit, to sing and teach and learn, to 
discuss and vote and pray, for the glory of God. Religious obli- 
gation was recognized in every movement^ In every gathering, 
whether for literary, social, financial or political purposes, God's 
presence and blessing were invoked. This habit still continues, 
with little neglect. Every recitation, though often there are fifty 
in a day, commences with a brief religious exercise, either singing 
or prayer. And it is a very interesting and profitable custom, 
which we could by no means be induced to abandon. 

In the practical application of the principle of entire consecration 
to God, there were, of course, diversities of views ; and if a few 
extremists entertained impracticable and absurd ideas of economy 
and retrenchment, it was no new or wonderful thing. A few 
young persons, for a few weeks, lived on bread and water. They 
argued that if prisoners at hard labor could do it, and maintain 
their health, surely students could. A fair trial dissipated their 
notions. One man, I remember, estimated the extra buttons on men's 
coats at church, and reported at the next prayer meeting how many 
Bibles they would bu}^ for the heathen. But he never impressed 
such ideas on a member of his own family. Another, on warm 
Sabbaths, would attend church barefoot, and sit in a conspicuous 
place, where his light might shine, and his example rebuke the ex- 
travagance of those who indulged in useless covering for the feet. 



14 oBERLiN College. 

This same man I afterwards saw sporting a gold-headed cane and 
a gold ring. He was cured of his folly — cured extremely. 

For such extravagancies Oberlin was not responsible, but was 
held accountable. They were such abnormal developments 
as are met with occasionally in every community. But the 
mass of the people were entirely rational, and it was delightful to 
see with what conscientiousness, and, in general, with what dis- 
cretion they endeavored to apply the principles of the gospel to all 
the affairs of daily life. "Holiness to the Lord" was the motto 
upon the streamer which waved above the great tent provided for 
Mr. Finney by friends in New York, and " Holiness to the Lord ' 
was the pervading spirit of the place. 

Such was the religious condition of Oberlin when the discussion 
of Christian perfection, which originated in New England, reached 
the place. The discussion commenced among the students. The 
doctrine, as at first presented, taught that Christians never sin ; 
that the spirit of Christ within them controls their powers, and is 
responsible for all they do ; that they are above all law, for the 
Spirit within them is the author of law ; and they are free to do as 
they please, for their pleasure is the pleasure of Christ. The doc- 
trine, as thus i)resented, was unanimously rejected. Not more 
than two of the students embraced it. They were in the Prepara- 
tory Department, and remained but a short time. The students 
generally had been educated in the belief that "No man is able, 
either of himself or by any grace received in this life, perfectly to 
keep the commandments of God ; but doth daily break them in 
thought, word and deed ;" that one use of the moral law to men is 
" to convince them of their disability to keep it;" that our most 
holy acts of repentance, consecration and prayer, are sinful, and of 
necessity so, because all the requirements of God are above our 
ability. They supposed that, as soon as a Christian became free 
from sin, he would be removed to heaven by death or translation. 
But the New School Theology, to which they had been introduced, 
taught that God requires nothing impossible ; that without ability 
there is no moral obligation; that a command of God to man is 
proof of man's ability to obey. God commands the sinner to re- 
pent, therefore he can repent ; to come to Christ, therefore he can 
come ; to make him a new heart, therefore, in the sense required, 
he can make him a new heart. From this position, which seemed 
scriptural, rational, axiomatic, it was but a step to the conclusion — 
Jesus Christ commanded his disciples, '^ Be ye therefore perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect ;" therefore, in the 
sense required, they can be perfect. He commands them to love 



OBERLIN COLLEGE, 15 

God with all the heart, therefore, with the gi'ace provided, they caa 
love Him with all the heart. From this step, the next, to their 
earnest, practical minds, was simple and natural : If God requires 
us to be perfect, to live without sin, and we are able to obey Him, 
we should aim to do so. And we should aim at this as a thing 
possible, practicable, and not as a thing entirely beyond our reacli* 
In this shape the subject was presented before a special meeting 
of the Young Men's Missionary Association. A resolution was 
introduced, in substance as follows — (the resolution itself is not to 
be found) — "Resolved, that having lived far beneath our obliga- 
tions as Christians, and acknowledging our duty and ability, witli 
Divine assistance, to obey the command, 'Be ye therefore perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,' we hereby re- 
new our consecration to God, and will henceforth endeavor, trust- 
ing in Divine grace, to live entirely free from sin." After an ear- 
nest discussion of about four hours, the resolution was unanimous- 
ly adopted, over twenty young men being present. Then followed 
a prayer meeting of about two hours. A more solemn and im- 
pressive scene is seldom witnessed. The next day the report went 
out that the Missionary Society had all become perfectionists. I 
never heard that any one of them ever claimed that he had lived 
a week or a day without sin. Yet it was their honest and earnest 
aim to live so, and, doubtless, many days passed, with some of 
them, in which they were not conscious of having violated this 
most solemn covenant of their lives. A few months from this 
time, at the close of a sermon by the President, in which he had 
set forth Jesus as a savior from the moral turpitude, as well as the 
guilt of sin, and had exhorted christians to look to him for succor 
in temptation, a young man arose and begged pel-mission to ask 
how much he might depend upon the Savior for. Might he pray 
and hope to be kept entirely free from sin ? He was answered 
that he might hope to be much more holy than he had been. But 
not satisfied, he pressed the inquiry, how much sin he might hope 
to be saved from, and how much he must commit. Ko satisfactory 
answer was given. But the subject, thus opened for consideration, 
was not dismissed till leading members of the Faculty were pre- 
pared to take their position : and sOon the whole community be- 
came interested. 

What has been, and what is now, the position of Oberlin on this 
subject ? I speak not by authority, but as one who has been inter- 
ested and active in this discussion from the beginning. It has been 
held— 

1. That moral obligation implies ability. That no man, saint or 



16 OBERLIK COLLEGfi:. 

sinner, is, at any time, in any circumstances, mider obligation to 
do what he cannot do, at that time, and in those circumstances. 

2. That God requires the entire and perpetual consecration of all 
our powers to his service ; nothing more, and nothing less. 

3. That one who honestly aims, intends, at all times, or at any 
time, to employ all his powers, according to his best judgment, in 
the service of God, discharges his whole duty for the time being-. 
All acts, all feelings, all aJffections, required at the time, will cer- 
tainly and necessarily attend right intention. As this is the best 
one can do, it is all he is required to do. 

4. That it should be the aim of every one to live such a life ha- 
bitually ; and the grace of God is proiFered to incite and strengthen 
us to such a life. And right intention implies that we avail our- 
selves of that grace according to our best knowledge and ability. 

5. That the first step of the christian life is entire consecration to 
God. If one intentionally, voluntarily, falls short of God's require- 
ments, in strength of will, or in any other respect, on his first 
attempt at serving God, he is not submissive, and is not converted. 

6. That the christian, who, in after life, falls below the entire 
consecration implied in the first act of religion, comes under the 
displeasure of God, and no service of his will be acceptable, till he 
returns to the spirit of obedience. 

7. That a life of entire and constant consecration to God is the 
best w^e can live, and all that he requires ; and, hence, is a perfect 
christian life. Perfection that implies more than this is a perfec- 
tion not required. 

Such are the i)ositions that have been maintained in Oberlin on 
this subject, and are still maintained. I have purposely avoided 
technical language, that I may not be misunderstood; but have 
not intentionally omitted any essential feature of the doctrine of 
entire sanctification, as it has been taught here. Much that has 
been said here has been misunderstood and misrepresented, as is 
natural, when a teacher is surrounded by a multitude of critics 
eager to "catch him in his talk." Some things have been said, and 
some arguments employed, that would not bear investigation. 
Oberlin men have not been peculiar in this respect. But if any 
heresy has prevailed here on this subject, it is found in the i)osi- 
tions I have here recorded. 

Oberlin men were charged with lowering the claims of the Di- 
vine law. Yet, no place can be found in which a higher sense of 
moral obligation has prevailed than in this. It has been charged 
•that Oberlin people have professed to be perfect, and to have at* 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 17 

tained entire sanctification. Yet few such professions have ever 
been heard here. They have never been encouraged. While it 
has- been maintained that Christians maybe competent to testify 
that they are not conscious of present sin, it has not been held that 
they are competent to testify, in regard to any considerable past 
time, that they have not sinned. 

All manner of evils were predicted to follow from the preaching 
of this doctrine ; but thirty years have passed, and they have not 
appeared. No other community of three thousand permanent in- 
habitants, can be found more free from immorality. 'No intoxica- 
ting drinks were ever sold here as a beverage, except occasionally, 
for a very short time. No billiard saloon or bowling alley ever ex- 
isted here. There was never a ball in the incorporation. A sin- 
gle effort for one proved a failure. Yet the young people are 
cheerful and happy, and enjoy all the social intercourse desirable. 
Persons seldom ride on the Sabbath for pleasure or recreation. 
Gambling and racing are never heard of here. No circus ever 
came within eight miles of the place. Infidelity, and Universalism 
and Spiritualism have been almost unknown here. A large por- 
tion of the people are Christians, and I know of no place where the 
Bible is more highly prized, or more generally studied, in Bible 
classes, and Sabbath Schools. There are not less than forty prayer 
meetings in a week continually. Every class in college has its 
weekly prayer meeting. The weekly young people's meeting has an 
average attendance of three hundred. Tbere has been a weekly in- 
quiry meeting for many years, which is seldom attended by less than 
ten, and sometimes by more than a hundred. There is not a more 
united, harmonious people in the world. Doctrines which have 
wrought so little mischief in so long a time should not have filled 
the country with alarm, and certainly would not, but for the pre- 
existing prejudice. 

Complaint has been made against Oberlin that it divided churches 
and sought to break up the plan of union between the Presbyterians 
and Congregationalists. The facts are as follows ; The founders 
of the institution were Presbyterians. The Trustees belonged to 
churches connected with Presbyteries. Five of the original Facul- 
ty were Presbyterian ministers. The Oberlin church was con- 
nected with the Presbytery. All would have been willing to 
continue the connection ; though, being of New England origin, 
they were favorable to Congregationalism. But so great was the 
opposition to Oberlin men, that a happy connection, or rather any 
connection at all, became impossible. Theological graduates were 
denied license for no other reason than that they favored Oberlin, 



18 OBEELIK COLLEGE. 

The first two young men that passed through the entire course of 
the Institution, applied for license to the Presbytery in the midst 
of which they had lived from childhood. They were unable to se- 
cure even an examination before the Presbytery. A committee 
was appointed to examine them in a private room, and report 
whether a public examination should be granted. The first ques- 
tion asked them was, "Do you believe in the way of doing things 
at Oberlin, and the doctrines taught there?" They begged to be 
excused from answering that question ; for the committee had 
never visited Oberlin, and had no idea how things were done thei*e, 
except by report. They begged to be allowed to stand on their 
own merits, and promised to answer fully and frankly as to their 
own views. A few other questions were asked, but the Oberlin 
question seemed the only important one, in their estimation ; and 
it was finally put in such a way that it could not well be evaded. 
" Do you believe that Oberlin i^ on the whole a good Institution, 
or is it a curse to the world ? " They replied that they thought it 
was a good Institution, and believed the committee would think 
so, if they would spend a week there. This was sufiicient. One 
of the com.mittee said he believed Oberlin was a curse to the 
world, and the sooner it was annihilated the better ; and they were 
determined that the Presbytery should never be ruled by Oberlin- 
ites. They asked the young men why they came there for license, 
if they believed in Oberlin. They replied: " We have always been 
acquainted with the members of the Presbytery, the church in 
which we were brought up, and to which our parents belong, is 
connected with the Presbytery, and, though in sentiment we are 
Con£'regationalists, we think we should have no trouble with Pres- 
byterians. The Presbyterians and Congregationalists have always 
been united on the Western Eeserve, and we are not in favor of a 
separation. If a separation must take place, we are not willing to 
be responsible for it." The committee reported adversely to a pub- 
lic examination, and, after considerable discussion, the report was 
adopted. The committee said the young men were well educated, 
and appeared to be pious, and were undoubtedly called of God to 
preach, and they could bid them God speed, but were unwilling to 
admit them to the Presbytery. The young men returned to Oberlin, 
not particularly disappointed, but greatly grieved. They had been 
rejected by the fathers under whose preaching they had been converg- 
ed and brought up. And the fathers were no less afflicted than they. 
They had discharged a most painful duty, which they had dreaded and 
tried to avoid. For they were aware of the intentions of the young 
men, and sought in private to dissuade them from making application 



©BERLIN COLIrEGir. 19 

for license. They were good men, but terribly alarmed at what they 
supposed to be the dangerous influence of Oberliu ; and felt called 
upon to perform this most disagreeable act for the protection of 
the churches. These young men now occupy important places in 
the Oberlin Faculty ; and one of them has been constantly connect- 
ed with the Institution since he entered as a student in 1834. They 
may, perhaps, be regarded as fair representatives of the spirit and 
influence of the College. Thus was the plan of union disturbed, 
and Oberlin set ofi" by itself. 

Many churches were divided by the Oberlin controversy ; but 
Oberlin men did not favor the divisions, and could have prevented 
them only by silence. If they preached and published the doc- 
trines they believed, some would embrace and some reject them. 
The result would be controversy and, often, division. The writer 
was once instrumental in dividing a church, on this wise. He was 
invited to lecture on slavery, in a country town, where he was a 
stranger. On arriving he found the church opened and warmed, 
and partly filled ; but he was not allowed to enter till he had prom- 
ised not to lecture without an invitation from the Trustees. After 
considerable lend discussion out of doors, a committee entered and 
asked if he was willing to lecture on the door-step. He replied, 
"yes,if the Trustees request it." Being informed that the Trus- 
tees were willing, he knelt upon the door-step and prayed, and 
then lectured an hour, making no allusion to the action of the 
Trustees, and then left the place. In a few weeks the church was 
divided, and, not long after, the meeting-house was deserted, the 
majority of the Trustees, and the party that remained with them, 
having dwindled to nothing. I am not aware that the Oberlin 
Professors ever recommended the division of a church, unless it 
was too large. They often opposed division, and probably preach- ^ 
ed and published more in favor of Christian union than all the 
other ministers in the ten counties of the Reserve. Indeed, their 
unionism was one occasion of opposition. 

I will finish this disagreeable portion of my narrative with one 
more fact. In 1844 a Western Convention of Presbyterians and 
Congregationalists was held in Cleveland. The writer was a rep- 
resentative from Michigan, and the only Oberlin man in the Con- 
vention. The Conference with which the Oberlin church was con- 
nected was not invited to send representatives. But Pres. Mahan 
and Prof. Finney were present, and a motion was made and advo- 
cated by Dr. Duffield of Detroit, that they be invited to sit as cor- 
responding members. This was voted down by a considerabLe 
majority. Much of the time was spent in denouncing Oberlin, and 



y 



20 '^BERLIN COLLEGE* 

tlie chief object of the Convention seemed to be to destroy its in- 
fluence, and exclude it from the pale of orthodoxy. At this Con- 
vention, the Society for the promotion of Collegiate and Theolog- 
ical Education at the West was organized, and to its list of bene- 
ficiaries Oberlin was admitted five or six years ago. At this Con- 
vention the opposition to Oberlin culminated. From that time it 
gradually declined, till now it may be said to have disappeared. 

In the course of this controversy Oberlin men acquired the rep- 
utation of being belligerent and self-confident. And it would not 
be strange if, under the remarkable tuition they enjoyed, there 
should have been an unusual development of back-bone, and, pos- 
sibly, neglect of the finer grace of modesty. This, however, may, 
probably, be said with truth, that there were a hundred attacks 
upon Oberlin where there was one reply. And with one or two 
exceptions, the members of the Faculty were^ by nature and by 
grace, averse to controversy. Prof. Henry Cowles, one of the most 
discreet and modest of men, for a long time editor of the Oberlin 
Evangelist, secured the title of "Ecclesiastical gladiator;" but 
could have made little show of a claim to it. 

The effect of the opposition to Oberlin must have been disheart- 
ening to its enemies. For while they made no progress, the Insti- 
tution gained a world-wide reputation ; an^d without the trouble of 
advertising, became at once the largest literary institution at the 
West. Students came in from every Northern State, and some 
even from the South, till, after three years, the average yearly 
number was over five hundred ; for the last fifteen years it has 
been eleven hundred and twenty three, in all departments. 

This portion of my narrative would be incomplete and superfi- 
cial if it should fail to record that the honor of raising up such an 
institution, at such a period in the history of our country, belongs 
to God alone. Human wisdom and goodness would never have 
planned or executed such a scheme. Sufficient imperfections and 
follies aiDjjeared to indicate the weakness of the human agencies 
employed ; but human plans, and human prejudices, and human 
policy were all set at naught in the accomplishment of the grand 
design. Oberlin, in its peculiar and essential characteristics, could 
never have existed without the explosion at Lane. Previously it 
was a small colony and school with few attractions ; forbidding in 
many respects, and almost inaccessible. What would have been 
its history, if left to a natural growth, it is impossible to conjec- 
ture. By whose plan it was that a large body of New York and 
New England men were gathered in a Seminary on the border of 
e> slave State, near a city almost as pro- slavery as Kentucky itself, 



OBERLIN COLLEGE,. 21 

under Trustees whose trade depended on the South ; whose wis- 
dom placed in contact this mass of powder and percussion caps, 
just as the blows of Garrison's Liberator were falling in every di- 
rection, each miist judge for himself. It surely was no human ar- 
rangement. And, that the fragments of the exploded institution 
might not be scattered and lost^ how remarkable that God should 
have had a place prepared for them in the wilderness, where they 
might be "nourished for a season," and prepared for his special work ; 
and that the human founder of this refuge,with no such thought in his 
heart, but led by an influence he did not comprehend, should have 
been present, just at the time to open the door and invite them in. 
And there is little ground for human boasting in the fact that the 
Trustees of Oberlin, with the promise of a President, and a Theo- 
logical Department ready manned, and considerable sums of 
money, did, after long discussion and delay, very timidly adopt, 
by the casting vote of their Moderator, a course op^josed to that 
which they saw had exploded Lane. It was of God that such an 
array of motives were x)resented as secured their decision. Whose 
wisdom arranged that the warmest anti-slavery zeal, and the most 
fervent revival spirit, and the most powerful eloquence insi:)ired 
by each, should here meet and together be consecrated to Goel ; so 
that the most thoroughly anti-slavery place in the country has been 
the most earnestly religious ! "Who located Oberlin on an island, 
surrounded by forest and mud, sufficient to cool and calm the fury 
of any mob, and to keep out the spirit of speculation more danger- 
ous still ? And was it the plan of God to gather here poor and 
self-reliant young men and women, and thus make necessary a 
long winter vacation, that, by teaching and lecturing, they might 
gain a support, and so lead forth yearly, at the most favorable sea- 
son of the year, a battalion equipped with truth and fired with 
anti-slavery zeal and the spirit of revivals ? The last eight years 
before the war the number which thus went out through the land, 
averaged not less than five hundred a year. How much Oberlin 
had to do in preparing the "West for the great struggle through 
which the nation has passed, God only knows, and to Him belongs 
the glory. And how much Oberlin has still to do in educating and 
christianizing the emancipated pegroes, in harmonizing the dis- 
cordant elements of the country, and preparing the difi'erent races 
to live together in peace, it is impossible ;to tell. But it seems 
wonderfully opportune, divinely providential, that, just at this 
juncture, an institution should exist, where more than eleven hun- 
dred students a year, without distinction of race or color, should 
learn to respect each other's manhood and rights ; and thus be in 



22 OBERLIK COLLEGE. 

the best manner prepared to meet our present emergencies. If this 
is not the Lord's work, what evidence have we that he does any- 
work among the children of men ? 

The record of Oberlin during the war was what might have been 
anticipated from its previous history. Three days after Lincohi's 
first call for 75,000 men, two full companies were enlisted and 
810,000 subscribed. One company only was accepted, and that 
consisted of one hundred a« valuable young men as ever met. 
Forty-one of them were members of the College and Theological 
classes ; all were moral and temperate, and a majority of them re- 
ligious. In three days more they were uniformed by the citizens 
and in camp. Nearly all of them re-enlisted for the war. They 
maintained a daily ]prayer meeting when circumstances permitted, 
and hence were called the praying company. But they fought and en- 
dured as well as they prayed. They were in many battles and en- 
dured many hardships, yet but one of tli^m died of disease, and one 
in prison. Nearly one-third of them were killed, and many were 
wounded. Several other companies were largely composed of 
Oberlin students, and in all about 850 entered the army from this 
Institution ; and all were volunteers. None of them, so far as is 
known, deserted, few of them were morally injured, and some of 
them were improved. When Cincinnati was threatened, the Gov- 
ernor's call for volunteers to defend it reached us in the morning, 
and in five hours a full company was organized, armed, provisioned 
and on the way. Thus promptly and generously did Oberlin meet 
all demands upon her till the danger was past. Of 166 young men 
in the four college classes in 1861, 100 entered the army as soldiers. 

It seemed to some a great pity that so many valuable young men, 
religious, educated, so well qualified to do good, and so much 
needed, should sacrifice themselves upon the altar of their country. 
Let others go, they said, who can be better spared ; who are not so 
important to the country and to the world. It was indeed sad to 
see the College Department diminished more than one half, and 
the Theological Dex^artment two-thirds. It would have seemed 
better economy if useless, worthless men enough could have been 
found to expose themselves to slaughter. Such considerations 
were sometimes presented, but they had little weight with the 
earnest young men assembled here. Their countr5^ was in peril, 
liberty and our free institutions were imperiled. They could not 
feel that they were too good or too important to rush to their de- 
fence. They could not say, "You go ; my life is too important to 
be sacrificed in this cause." The ofiicers of the College scrupulous- 
ly abilained from influencing students to volunteer, and refused 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 23 

permission to those under age, till they obtained the consent of 
their parents or guardians. Colored young men oflered their ser- 
vices at the outset, but the country felt no need of them. They were 
told that they would be wanted before the war was over ; for it 
was never the expectation here that the war would end till slavery 
ended ; nor that the slaves would be freed without their own as- 
sistance. 

We now turn from these general characteristics of Oberlin to 
more particular features of the Institution. 

The manual labor system can hardly be said to have been a suc- 
cess. The first 5'ear students were required to labor four hours a 
day, and work was furnished by the College ; for young men in the 
shops and on the farm, and for young ladies in the domestic de- 
partment. The catalogue of the second year states that students 
were expected to labor three hours daily. The third year it was 
announced that nearly all the ladies and a majority of the young 
gentlemen had paid their board by manual labor. Three hours 
daily labor was still required. We find no statement on the sub- 
ject for the fourth year. No catalogue was published. The Insti- 
tution had entered upon an experience from which it has never 
recovered, — " More students than money." The catalogue of the 
fifth year says : "At present no i^ledge can be given that the In- 
stitute will furnish labor to all the students ; but hitherto nearly 
all have been able to obtain employment from either the Institute 
or the colonists." Henceforth the requirement to labor passed 
into a recommendation. The following statements embody, in 
substance, the results of the experiment: 1. No business can be 
profitably carried on by students' labor at such prices as would be 
satisfactory to the laborer, unless the employer can have the privi- 
lege of selection from the students. The majority will be so feeble, 
so inexperienced, so ineflScient, so absorbed in their studies, so 
heedless, or so disgusted at the very idea of labor, that the expense 
for superintendence and tools will exceed the value of their labor, 
at three hours a day. In a reform school, where more rigid disci- 
pline is allowable, and escape is impossible, it would be otherwise. 
In a female seminary the domestic labor may be chiefiy performed 
by the pupils, though some will shirk, while others will over work. 
2. Students may labor two or three hours a day without detriment, 
but with advantage, both to the body and the mind, and to their 
progress in study ; and may at the same time acquire habits of in- 
dustry and knowledge of business, which will be of great advan- 
tage in after life, and eminently fit them for pioneer missionaries 
in any field. 3. Hundreds &f students have mainly or entirely 



24 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

supported themselves tlirougli the entire course by manual labor, 
and teaching in vacation ; and many of them have been sui)crior 
scholars. 4. Manual labor is not disreputable here. Students for- 
feit no social advantages or attention by laboring for their own 
sup]3ort. " Learning and Labor " is the motto of the College seal. 
Nearly all the Faculty were once manual labor students, and keep 
up the habit still. 5. Diligent and faithful young men can usually 
find employment, with satisfactory compensation, in the village 
a,nd about the College buildings. The College farm originally con- 
sisting of 500 acres, is leased to permanent residents, who engage 
to furnish employment to students in proj)ortion to the amount of 
land they occupy. 

The experiment of educating ladies and gentlemen in the same 
school and the same classes has proved eminently successful. For 
a fall exposition of this subject, I refer the reader to an address of 
the President, delivered before a meeting of College Presidents at 
Springfield, 111., July 10, 1867, and published in the Illinois Teach- 
er and in Barnard's American Journal of Education, for January, 
1S68. In regard to the wisdom of this arrangement, there is but 
one opinion here. An experience of thirty-four years has con- 
vinced every officer of this Institution that it is promotive of good 
scholarship, correct deportment, and agreeable manners, in both 
sexes ; and is attended with less dangers than the system of sepa- 
ration. So far as they pursue the same studies, they generally re- 
cite in the same classes, both in the Preparatory and College De- 
partments. They attend church, chajDel prayers and prayer meet- 
ings together ; they sit at the same tables in the College dining 
hall, which accommodates a hundred ladies who room in the same 
building, and a hundred young men ; and many of them board in 
the same private families ; and under careful restrictions and 
wholesome regulations, which extend to all private houses where 
students board, they enjoy such social intercourse as young people' 
need. The many evils which were predicted, and which many still 
believe to be inevitable in such a school, do not occur. An occa- 
sional unhappy flirtation takes place, and, now and then, an unfor- 
tunate engagement ; but they occur every where, and, probably, in 
no place more seldom than here. It would be surprising to many 
mere theorists to see with what readiness and good sense a multi- 
tude of young i^eople, when treated with proiDcr confidence, will 
yield to the necessary regulations of their social intercourse. There 
is seldom an occurrence which is occasion of serious anxiety to 
those who have the principal oversight of the young people in this 
respect. The fact that not less than twenty young colleges at the 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 25 

West have adopted the same plan is an indication that the system 
has already secured, to a great extent, the confidence of the people. 
There may be colleges and communities where this system could 
not be safely introduced ; our exi^erience relates only to a commu- 
nity unusually religious and orderly. 

The Ladies' course of study is not excelled by that of any Female 
Seminary in the country. It is a four years' course, after a thor- 
ough preparation in the common Engjish branches, also two terms 
of Algebra and three of Latin. They have also the advantage of 
reciting to College Professors, in the regular College classes. A few 
take the regular college course, which is equal to that of the best 
Colleges in the country ; and their standing is not inferior to that 
of the young men. 

"We are often questioned as to the standing of our colored stu- 
dents. But few of our colored students have graduated. The 
most of them have only sought a business education. And so great 
has been the demand for their services as teachers, that some who 
had designed to take a full course have been turned aside. Fifteen 
young men and two young ladies have taken the degree of A. B., 
and fourteen young ladies have completed the Ladies' Course. Of 
these the President says in an address to the Alumni, " Most of 
them have occupied a fair position among their fellows in scholarly 
attainment and cultivation. It might be safe to say of one of them 
that he has had no superior in literary taste, or in ability as a 
linguist. Others have excelled in other departments of study." 
The testimony of the Principal of the Preparatory Department is 
that there is no essential difference, other ihings being equal, be- 
tween their standing and that of the white students. Some are 
among the best and some are among the poorest. The same is said 
to be true in the Union School, where one-third of the j)upils are col- 
ored. Of our colored citizens, who compose one-fifth of the pop- 
ulation, it is a pleasure to say that, in general, they are peaceable, 
orderly, industrious, and rapidly improving in cultivation and the 
comforts of life. They mingle freely with the white population in 
all the business relations of life, without the least danger of a ^'' war 
of races," or any other collision. It is found as easy and agreeable 
to sit in Ihe Town Council or on the Board of School Directors 
with allegro, as in a barber's shop or a barouche. Many of them. 



having recently come from slavery, retain, in a great measure,-the 
ignorance and peculiar habits of that institution. A more intelli- 
gent, cultivated population would be desirable ; but if asked to ex- 
change them for an equal number of foreigners, of which we have 
none, we should beg to be excused. 



26 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

The teaching force of the Institution consists of a Faculty of 
thirteen gentlemen, — the President, three Theological Professors, 
seven College Professors, the Principal of the Preparatory Depart- 
ment, and a Professor of Music ; also the Principal of the Ladies' 
Department and her Assistant, and about forty others, taken chief- 
ly from the College and Theological classes, who instruct a class or 
two apiece. There is great need of another Professor in the Theo- 
logical Department. Diligent efforts are being made to supply this 
want. The vacant chair has been offered to a most excellent cler- 
gyman, a superior scholar, of the Presbyterian Denomination. He 
has not yet signified his willingness to accept the appointment. 
The President gives instruction in this department. 

In consequence of the disturbance of the College classes and of 
this department by the war, it is at present in a depressed condi- 
tion. From thirty-six students before the war, it is now reduced 
to a dozen. The prospects for the future, however, are not dis- 
couraging. It is confidentially believed that, with proi)er effort, it 
may soon become as vigorous and useful as ever. 

This Institution sustains no organic relation to any religious de- 
nomination, but in principle and practice it is Congregational. The 
Trustees, with one exception, and the Faculty are connected with 
Congregational Churches, and the ministers who have been educa- 
ted here are nearly all Congregationalists. There are two large 
Congregational Churches in the village, which are so liberal in prin- 
cipal and practice that the necessity for other churches has hardly 
been felt. Christians of all denominations have been made to feel 
very much at home with them. It was for many years a special 
desire and aim of this people to demonstrate that christians can 
dwell together in unity ; that all who love the Lord Jesus Christ 
in sincerity and truth, holding the doctrines that are essential to 
christian character, can live harmoniously in the same church, 
though differing in regard to those doctrines and practices which 
separate the diff'erent denominations of christians. And so suc- 
cessful has the experimient been that, though christians of nearly 
all denominations have united with these churches, I have never 
heard of a single case of discord or serious friction between members 
in consequence of their different denominational views. A very 
few families, several years ago, feeling the want of the Episcoj)al 
service, organized a small Episcopal Church, which has been blessed 
with an excellent pastor, in hearty sympathy with the general spirit 
of the place, and is now in a flourishing condition. A Baptist 
Church has been recently organized for the accommodation of those 
who cannot conscientiously commune with their christian brethren 



OBITRLIX COLLEGE. 27. 

wlio differ from them as to the mode of baptism. Their present 
minister is a very worthy and talented young man, a member of 
the Theological Department, and a graduate of the College. There is 
also a small Wesleyan Methodist Church, for the benefit, principally, 
of a portion of the colored people, who could not hare courage to 
exercise their usual liberty in the large Congregational Churches. 
Several efforts have been made to siistaiu a Methodist Episcopal 
Church here, but they have not been successful. Methodists find 
themselves so well accommodated with the Congregationalists that 
they cannot feel the necessity for a church by themselves. There is 
no College church. But the students are required, at the com- 
mencement of every term, to choose their place of worship, and 
then to attend, twice on the Sabbath, at that place. This mingling 
of the students and peoj)le and professors in the same religious 
meetings tends, more than anything else, to promote harmony and 
kindly interest between the College and the people. It is not sim- 
ply as boarders that the people know the students ; but listening 
to the same sermons, lectures, and prayers ; being connected as 
teachers and pupils with the same Sabbath Schools and Bible class- 
es, and belonging to the same choirs, their themes of conversation 
are, to a great extent, the same ; their anxieties, interests and aims 
are similar, and the influence is exceedingly wholesome to both 
classes. The union also adds greatly to the interest of the religious 
meetings. The congregations are large and the choirs full ; and the 
people feel that, through the thousand students associated with 
them, their spirit, and habits, and views are to influence millions 
abroad. With one exception, the congregation of the first church 
is, probably, the largest in the country. The choir numbers 
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty well trained sing- 
ers. The concerts which they give on commencement occasions 
are celebrated through the country. The church edifice is similar 
to Beecher's in Brooklyn. 

On the subject of College discipline, I can do nothing better than 
to insert an extract from an address delivered by the President in 
1800. The same remarks would be equally applicable now. 

^'The discipline of the school has had from the beginning some 
peculiarities. Circumstances were favorable for the initiation of 
changes in the usual system of college discipline. The students first 
gathered here, were not sent to school — they came. They wei*e 
serious-minded, earnest young ]3eople, with no thought but tt) make 
the most of their time and opportunities. They needed sugges- 
tions and instructions — not much restraint. The early students 
will remem' er that for vears we had no roll called for recitation 



28 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

— no marking for performance — no monitor to note absences from 
public exercises, and no account rendered in any way. There were 
published regulations — ^not printed — to which all were expected to 
conform. A high degree of familiarity was maintained between Fac- 
ulty and students. The least advanced member of the Preparatory 
Department felt free to salute the President of the Institution as 
brother, and the salutation was accepted as sufficiently respectful. 
To an outsider this familiarity sometimes seemed shocking. He 
did not apprehend the spirit of it ; and because of the absence of 
certain formalities usual in colleges — the lifting of the hat and the 
stately recognition — he arrived at the conclusion that the students 
were lacking in genuine respect for their teachers. There could be 
no greater mistake. The respect and confidence was so hearty 
that stately formalities would have seemed as much out of place as 
between parents and children. 

Such a field afforded a good opportunity for dispensing with the 
strict surveillance of the monitorial and marking systems, and 
making large account of the principles of confidence, self-respect 
and honor. The self-reporting system has been in operation these 
many years, each student giving account of his performance of cer- 
tain prescribed duties. The appeal is made to his honor and self- 
respect ; and while these doubtless fail at times, the tendency of 
the system is not to break them down. It is not considered smart 
to give a false report of attendance upon prayers and public wor- 
ship, as it is wont to be to evade the observation of a monitor, or 
deceive an obnoxious tutor. The past eight years, a record has 
been kept by each teacher of the performance in recitation — not for 
the purpose of grading or indicating the standing in any public 
tvay, but for the more exact information of teacher and pupil, giving 
each an opportunity, as surveyors say, for back-sight and fore- 
sight. 

The cases of individual discipline among us have always been 
surprisingly few, and are mostly confined to the Preparatory De- 
partment, which almost all new comers enter. More than ten 
years have elapsed since a student has-been expelled or dismissed, 
in the way of discipline, from any of the college classes. The aver- 
age number of college students during that time has been 109, and 
stands now at 181. About eight years ago the number of students 
in the institution arose, in a single year, from 571 to 1020, and the 
next year to 1305, and since that time has averaged more than 1200 
yearly ; yet there has been no corresponding increase in the num- 
ber of cases of discipline. A more thorough system of supervision 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. ^ 

liafe befen secured, and all operations are more completely system- 
iz^d; but the time spent by the Faculty upon cases has not been 
perceptibly increased. 

There are many influences which conduce to good order ; and 
among these I would mention, first, the sense of responsibility 
which attaches to each pupil, to maintain his good name. Our 
college community is not so secluded that a student can have a 
college reputation, as distinct from his reputation in general socie- 
ty. The presence of both sexes in the school does much to secure 
this result. Few of the hundreds here will ever find a place where 
their personal reputation will seem of more value to them than at 
present. If they ever intend that a good name shall forward their 
interests, this is the time and place. It is difficult to over-estimate 
this force. 

Then again, the interest which has always prevailed in the 
school, in questions of moment in the outer world, such as slavery 
and politics, has been favorable. The intellectual activity, genera- 
ted in a large school, must have an object, and if nothing worthy 
and elevated is afi'orded, it will fasten upon things trivial or degra- 
ding. It seems eminently fit that youth, in process of education 
should ponder and form opinions upon the great moral and politi- 
cal questions which agitate the world. Even erroneous and par- 
tial opinions are better than indifi'erence. Exclude such questions 
from a school, and other questions will be raised, unworthy of at- 
tention. College politics take the place of general politics, and the 
question — who shall be President of a Literaay Society, awakens 
intenser feeling than who shall be President of the Eepublic. 
These graver questions are, by some, thought to produce unwhole- 
some excitements in schools, but the enthusiasm which they call 
out is a generous emotion, not like the petty and contemptible 
strifes which sometimes agitate the college community. The 
spirit begotten is elevated and manly, and conduces to an ele- 
vated and worthy character. In this respect we have been favor- 
ed. Questions of serious and weight}'- interest, of right and wrong, 
I)ertaining to the duties of th^ government and the rights of citi- 
zens, have been thrust upon us, in such practical forms as com- 
pelled thought and action. We have needed no artificial employ- 
ment of our activities. All this has tended to good order. Small 
matters become occasions of excitement and rebellion in colleges. 
It would often seem that the less the occasion, the more intense the 
feeling. But these small matters are excluded by greater. We 
have never had a rebellion here, not from the absence of spirit and 
excitability, but from the presence of worthier objects. 



30 ©BERLIN COLLEGE. 



Still another feature in o-ui* college system, is the employment of 
so large a number of the more advanced and influential students, 
as teachers of the classes in the Preparatory Department. This ar- 
rangement is valuable in many ways. It secures to the student a 
desirable means af discipline and culture ; an arrangement, accord- 
ing to Sir William Hamilton, essential to tlie best system of edu- 
ction. It furnishes substantial material aid to many who, with- 
eTit such resource, would be straitened for means to pursue study. 
It secures to the Institution, instruction of a high character, at 
-j-ates lower than are i3aid in common schools, thus greatly reducing 
the price of tuition to the pupil. But beyond this, it is a disciplin- 
ary arrangement of immense value, bringing a large number of 
leading students into the double relation of teachers and pupils. 
Thus a link is established between Faculty and students, which 
enables them better to understand and appreciate ea,ch other ; and 
thus the government is brought, in the least offensive way, into 
immediate contact with the mass of the students. These teachers 
have no authority out of the recitation room, but they are a power- 
ful influence on the side of good order. 

While the general outcome of our system of discipline is thus 
satisfactory, it must not be supposed that it i^ in all cases success- 
ful, and that there are not instances in which the aims of teachers 
are frustrated, and the hopes of parents and friends disappointed. 
There is no complete immunity from temptation in Oberlin, and 
has never been. Those who are propense to evil company have 
always been able to find it ; and those to whom a direct, vigilant 
oversight is essential, are not likely to prosper here. But many 
who would resist such supervision, and deteriorate under it, are 
found susceptible to more generous motives, and make rapid pix)- 
gress." 

The expenses of a student in Oberlin for all things except books, 
ai'e about five dollars a week ; twice what they were ten yaars ago. 
Many spend more and m^ny less than this amount. This is about 
the average. 

The buildings belonging to the college are seven in number, and 
estimated to be worth about §80,000. The largest and best is the 
Ladies' Hall, which furnishes private rooms for one hundred 
ladies, such public rooms as are necessary for the Ladies' Depart- 
ment, and a dining hall sufficient for the accommodation of two 
hundred. Tappan Hall, erected in 1835-6, by the liberality of Ar- 
thur Tappan, is a dormitory building, and accommodates about 
one hundred young men. It also [contains a reading room an/i 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 31 

several recitation rooms. This is the central building, and should 
be the best. In its day it was a superb structure, to be located in 
a forest ; and it has done most excellent service. But it was cheap- 
ly built, in very plain style ; the rooms are small, adapted to the 
times of rigid economy, and the whole appearance of the building 
is unsatisfactory. Blessings on the man who, for the good of the 
world, and in honor of the noble man whose name it bears, shall re- 
erect this central building in a style and with accommodations 
adapted to the age ! Such a man has the matter in contemplation. 
May the Lord prosper him ! These two are the only dormitory 
buildings needed. The majority of the students can find comfort- 
able rooms in private houses, sufficiently near the college buildings. 
The chapel is a good building, furnishing recitation rooms for the 
Tlieological Department, and Institution ofiices below, and a large 
audience ropm above. Two commodious buildings have recently 
been erected for recitation rooms and other purposes, which give 
entire satisfaction. One more large building is needed for the Li- 
brary, the Cabinet, and the Departments of Chemistry and ]S[atural 
Histor^, which now occupy rooms quite inadequate. This will be 
cemmenced as soon as the state of the finances will allow. When 
it is completed, two small buildings now used will be removed 
from the college grounds. 

The college square embraces fifteen acres in the centre of the vil- 
lage. The permanent college buildings, except the Ladies' Hall, are 
on the square, aud other iDublic buildings about it. The square is 
well supplied with shade trees, deciduous, and evergreen; and, 
during the summer season, is very pleasant. 

There are four libraries connected with the Institution, embra- 
cing, in all, about ten thousand volumes. Two or three friends 
have it in their hearts to enlarge the library whenever an adequate 
room shall be provided. 

The permanent endowment fund is uqw about $160,000. About 
§80,000 of this was raised in 1852 by the sale of scholarships. These 
were of three clasase : one class entitling the holder to tuition for 
six years, another for eighteen years, and the other perpetually. The 
prices of the-se scholarships were $25, $50 and $100. Being so very 
cheap, it was neecessary to sell a large number to secure the amount. 
And being transferable, and renting for $6 to $9 a year, and tuition 
being S15 a year, the college, of course, received no tuition after 
the scholarship system went into operation, till naiay of the six 
year scholarships were exhausted. This measure, which has been 
unju'ofitable to some colleges, was eminently wise and smecessfnl 



32 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

here. The money thus secured has been safely and profitably in- 
vested, and the income from it is much more than the college ever 
received from tuition. The present income of the college for the 
support of teachers, both from the endowment and from tuition, is 
about $15,000. The salaries of the professors and other instructors 
amount to nearly $19,000 a year ; so that the annual expenses of 
the college, in this department, exceed its income by about $4,000. 
Other expenses of the college are amply provided for by rent, and 
by an incidental fee of $6 a year to each student. Besides the en- 
dowment fund, the college owns land, in various localities, valued 
at from $20,000 to $30,000. There are also uncollected subscrip- 
tions, good and bad, long and short, amounting to over $40,000. 
This land well sold, and these subscriptions well collected, would 
erect the large building so imperatively needed, also an observato- 
ry, besides supplying the deficit in current expenses for several 
years. But much of this land has been for sale more than fifteen 
years, and has been an expense rather than a source of income. It 
may and may not soon be disposed of. The Trustees would hardly 
feel justified in undertaking the erection of the large building so 
much needed, on the strength of this land and these uncollected 
subscriptions. If some benevolent man would devote $10,000 to 
this important work, he would relieve a present necessity, and 
would be remembered with gratitude by all the ofS.cers of the col- 
lege, and by a thousand students every year. If then three other 
good men would each endow a professorship, the essential wants 
of the college would be permanently met. It would be safe to de- 
pend on the bequests, which will from time to time be made, for 
future improvements. 

This narrative would be incomplete without some notice of the 
recent discussions in the place on the s abject of Freemasonry. 
Among the rules early adopted for the government of the college, 
there was one prohibiting students from connecting themselves 
with secret societies. This rule was understood to apply prima- 
rily to such secret societies as are common in colleges, and are be- 
lieved to be often the source of much mischief. But in its terms 
it included all secret societies. It has been always interpreted to 
prohibit only active connection with such societies, while students 
are on the ground. They have never been questioned as to their 
connection with them in other places. 'No case of discipline has 
ever occurred under this rule. A single young man asked and re- 
ceived an honorable dismission from the Institution, on the ground 
of his desire to have active connection with the Grand Army of 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 33 

the Republic. Such has been the influence of the rule, and of the 
sentiment which sustained it, that, with the exception of a small 
division of the Sons of Temperance, which flourished a few weeks, 
no secret society ever existed in the place, till the winter of 1867. 
While the attention of the mass of the people was engaged in a 
powerful revival of religion, a small lodge of Freemasons was qui- 
etly organized. The organization, however, was not participated 
in by some prominent citizens of the place, who had belonged to 
lodges in other places. The subject came up for general discussion 
on the application of two or three members of the lodge for ad- 
mission to the Congregational churches. It was discussed earnest- 
ly in the church meetings, was made the theme of several dis- 
courses on the Sabbath, and was a prominent topic of conversation 
for several months. The result has been an almost perfect unanim- 
ity of sentiment in opposition to the institution of Masonry. Ees- 
olutions representing the character and tendencies of the order as 
evil, and contrary to the principles of Christianity, were adopted 
in both churches, large numbers being present, without a dissent- 
ing vote. Probably not more than a dozen were silent. JSTo active 
Mason, known to be such, has been admitted to either church. The 
only manifest division was on the propriety of adopting a standing 
rule against the admission of adhering Masons to the churches. 
The first church adopted the rule, the second did not. Whether 
there will be any practical difference between them, it is too early 
to predict. 

The whole number of graduates from all departments of Oberlin 
.College, not including the Teachers' or Scientific Course, is 1190. 
From the Theological Department 244. From the regular College 
Department 444 gentlemen and 86 ladies. From the Ladies' Course 
416. Of the College graduates 186 have entered the ministry, 47 
have become lawyers, 27 physicians, 122 Professors and teachers. 
About one-fourth of them are residents of Ohio, and one-third of 
the "Western and Northwestern States. A very large number who 
never finished their college course have entered the ministry and 
other professions. The Preparatory Department, which furnishes 
not only a preparation for College, but also a thorough preparation 
for teaching and for business, is the largest department of the In- 
stitution. The young men in this department average about nine- 
teen years of age. It is from this department that a majority of 
the five hundred teachers a year have been furnished. During 
the long winter vacation an important school is maintained by 
the members of the Faculty, called the Winter School. Its average 



u 



B4 OBERLIN COLLEGE. 



number of attendants is about 275. Their names are not included 
in the College catalogue. The Business Institution in this place 
has no connection with the College. 

Just as this narrative is completed, a letter comes from one of 
the first students of Oberlin, Mayo G. Smith, from which I borrow 
a brief extract. He says : 

" Eeturning from my travels in the Holy Land, I went to Ober- 
iin's people, his church, his grave. Wedged between the everlast- 
ing Alpine hills are fifteen hundred men, women, and children, all 
Protestants. All love and venerate the name of Oberlin. Sur- 
rounded by Papists, this community has no dissenting voice. The 
spirit of Oberlin yet holds the whole commune. Prayer and praise 
ascend from every house. Bible classes and the secular and sacred 
instrumentalities unite and consolidate all into one church of 450 
members. The whole place is a mountain nest of loving brothers 
and sister*., who rejoiced to know that in my country one of the 
most powerful colleges in the world bore the name of their great 
and good Oberlin. Commemorative of good Oberlin's labor among 
them, they celebrated the anniversary of his advent. The church 
was decorated with floral ornaments, and, from the end of a wreath 
of mountain mosses peud^iut from his pulpit, I send a clipping." 
After describing other precious relics obtained there, he adds : 
"With a lo\^e for you, dear Oberlin, which makes the sacrifice 
sweet, I give all to my Alma Mater." 

And thus may the memory of Oberlin be cherished bj'- all her 
children. May they have good reason, alwa^^s, to " rise up and 
call her blessed."' 






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